Package



C. J. ROHLAND June 8, 1937.

PACKAGE Fi le'd Feb. 6, 1934 NTOR.

Patented June 8, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to a package of dental floss; and has for one of its objects the provision of such a package which will maintainthe dental floss in a compact form and yet permit its ready withdrawal from the package. upon pulling an end extending therefrom.

Another object of the invention is to maintain the dental floss in substantially its desired package shape until used.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a package in which the dental floss need not be touched by the fingers to place the same in the mouth.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a package of dental floss in a form which may be made mechanically without the same being touched by'human hands during the formation of the package.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a package of dental floss which may be covered with a coating of sugar or other substance, to assist in maintaining it in shape and also to make the same more palatable.

A further object of the invention is the holding and wrapping of the dental floss in its package form in such a manner that the group of strands will be retained in rolled or package arrangement and in such a way that the same may be inserted in the mouth by manipulation of the outer wrapping of the package without the strands of dental floss being touched.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of 'certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described, and

particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of package of dental floss showing a coilof strand material with the ends of the strand extended therefrom.

Fig. 2 illustrates a plurality of coils of material as they come from the winding machine and prior to severing into the individual packages.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the strands showing the covering of wax thereon.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the package with a coating about the coils of the strand material.

Fig. 5 is a' perspective view of the strand ma terial as mounted upon a strip of two-ply wrapping material.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a package of several individual strands.

Fig. 7 is a perspective View of the package of Fig. 5, in folded form.

Fig. 8 is a perspective View of the different form oflaterally disposed portion ofthe strand which forms a group, bunch or nucleus of the package.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a further modification of arrangement, showing a somewhat flattened helical coil.

Fig; 10 is a perspective view of the strands such as illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9 coated with'a candy covering:

Fig. 11 is a perspective view illustrating a modified form'of package. 1 Fig. 12is a sectional view largely diagrammatic illustrating the manner of using dental floss for cleaning the space between two of the upper teeth. It isoften found desirable to use what is known as dental floss for cleaning the space between teeth after eating, which is accomplished by drawing a strand of material through the teeth. These strands are usually sufiiciently' soft to be broken upon excessive tension, but strong enough to be drawn through and remove any foreign matter which has lodged in the space between the teeth; and in the use of such material it is usually necessary to take hold of the strand and place it between the teeth, and further, some handling is necessary in the formation of the package or put-up of the dental floss; and in order that greater sanitary conditions may be had in the formation of dental floss for use and in the handling of the same, I have provided a package of dental floss which may be assembled mechanically and'in the form of a coiled body of the strand of floss in lateral disposition and close adjacency, the coil being held in position by some retaining substance such as'wax, applied thereto as a covering or coating; after which the strand may be mounted in a wrapper, which wrapper maybe manipulated to place the same in the mouth without the user touching the floss; and if desired, I may coat the grouping of dental floss which is to be used with a coating of sugar or the like which also assists in maintaining the same in the form desired; and the following is a more detailed description of the present embodiment of this invention illustrating the preferred means by which these advantageous results may be accomplished:

With reference to the drawing, I have shown in Fig. 2 a strand l5 which at spaced points of possibly an inch and a half, is wound into a coil ll, mechanically, which coils are joined together by uncoiled lengths Hi. This strand is severed adjacent each coil, such as the point l8 to leave a long length IS on one side and a short length 16' on the other side.

The strand may be formed of two or more plies which operate and are treated together as a single part, such as illustrated in Fig. 1, and about this double ply strandthere is provideda coating 5 of, wax I9 which is applied in plastic'or semi+ plastic condition as the strand is wound and then hardens upon the coil to maintain the strand in i isin such condition that upon pulling of the,

longitudinally extended portion H5 or l3 of the strand, it will run free from the group and net knot or snarl, but will pull into an elongated form,

finally terminating at the pointwhere it is clutoif from the next group.

The body I! may be coated such as bydipping in a suitable solution to form a covering 20 thereon, which assists inmaintaining the package in its assembled formation and also makesthe same morepalatable. This covering 20, of course," will be sufliciently frail sothat upon pulling the portion iii. of the. strand there will be no unduerestriction by the covering 20. i

The package so formed with its-nucleus or body and extending ends, is then mountedupon a strip of paper 2| by means of the wax being sufliciently adhesive to stick thereto, Another ply of the wrapper consisting of another sheet of paperv 23, such as tin foil is positioned along the outside of the ply 2| and the wrapper may then, be'folded by turningin its edge 21 over'the body I'l, then turning in its edges 24, 25, and 26,

v as illustrated in Fig. '7; When a pluralityof pack 3 ages [8 ,of the floss I'l are mounted in a single wrapper, by turning in the edge 21 over the package llthere is no disturbing of these packages .40 in the subsequent folding of the wrapper 2|.

manipulation of the strand l6 it may be positioned in the space between two of v the teeth, which space it is desired to clean, and .by drawingthe strand out of the mouth it will unfold from thebody, and as it comesto the end of its length will 3 be.- completely out of the spacebetween the teeth, having carried the foreign matter therein collected from its position. If desired toextend the strand before positionin'git in-the mouth the opposite ends l6 and I6 .qwill ,be

grasped and pulledfor this purpose. In Fig. 9, I have illustrated the coil as in som different shape at 30 in a somewhat flattened helical arrangement while in Figure 8, I have illustrated at 3| the strand folded in a zigzag arrange-.

ment, each of these arrangements'may be-coated such as 32 in the form shown in Figure 10. A modified form of package is shown in Figure 11 consisting of abody portion 33 with the ends 34 of the wrapping folded in opposite directions and with the strand portion 35 protruding from the package. These packages may be folded together with the ends 35 interlocking so, that one 79 mayv be lifted'from the other, and by grasping the strand end 35 which protrudes from the package,'it may be lifted from the'next package, and upon shaking the end 35 it may be loosened and dropped off the package and the body portion 11 inserted in the mouth without handling other than theprotruding end 35. By these arrangements, I provide a compact package which may be formed without the touching by human hands and may be placed in the mouth also without touching, if desired.

The packages are of such form that they may be made by machine operation and wrapped without touching by human hands.

The wax on the strand is of such minimum amount as to just hold the strands inassembled form, and is flavored withrmint or the like so as not to be unpalatable. The foregoing description is directed solely towards the construction illustrated, but I desire it to be understood that I reserve the privilege of resorting to all the mechanical changes to 2. A package of dental floss, comprising strand of 1 material laterally'zdistributed in: close adjacency with reference to the longitudinal axis of the package and also disposed longitudinally of the package for a portion of its length, said strand being coated with wax to maintain it in substantially said relation,"and a wrapper-com.- prising two layers of sheet .material for :said strand adhering thereto by reason". of the wax covering on said strand. i l

- 3. A package of "dentalufloss, 7 comprising a,

strand of'material laterally-distributed in close adjacency with reference to the longitudinaleaxis of the package and also disposed longitudinally of the package for a..portion of its length, said strand being. coated with wax to maintain it in substantially said relation, and a wrapper com prising two layers of sheet material for'said strand adhering thereto by reason of thewax covering. on said strand, said outer layer-of sheet material being relatively stiff. i

4. A package of dental floss comprising strand of dental floss material havinga body part and an extended part, said body partbeing in the form of a coil consisting of a lateral disposition of said strand of floss material in closeadjacency,

said coil having a covering for maintaining'the coil in its assembled formation, saidcovering being sumciently frail'so that upon pulling the extended part of the strand while holding the coiled part the latter portion elongated form. a

5. A package of dental floss comprising a strand. of dental floss material having a body part and an extended part, said body. part being in the form of a coil consisting of alateral disposition of saidstrand of flossmaterial in close adjacency, said coil having a'coating for. maintaining the coil in its assembled formation, said coating being sufliciently frail so that upon pulling the extended part of the strand while holding the coiled part the latter portion will be unraveled into an elongated form. w

6. A package of dental floss'comprising a strand of dental fioss material having a body part and an extended part, said body part being in the will be unraveled into an,

form of a coil consisting of a lateral disposition and an extended part, said body part being in p of said strand of floss material in close adjacency, said coil having a wax coating for maintaining the coil in its assembled formation, said coating being sufficiently frail so that upon pulling the extended part of the strand while holding the coiled part the latter portion will be unraveled into an elongated form.

'7. A package of dental floss comprising a 10 strand of dental floss material having a body part the form of a zigzag coil consisting of a lateral disposition of said strand of floss material in close adjacency, said coil having a covering for maintaining the coil in its assembled formation, said covering being sufliciently frail so that upon pulling the extended part of the strand while holding the coiled part the latter portion will be unraveled into an elongated form.

CURT J. ROHLAND. 

